There are about two dozen songs that every single R&B band in Memphis plays every time they perform. Whether you’re on Beale Street, or in a local juke joint, or rolling down the river on the Memphis Queen or just down South at the casinos, you’re going to hear all two dozen. Songs like “Proud Mary,” “Smokestack Lightning,” “Down Home Blues,” “Wang Dang Doodle” and “Mustang Sally” and “Teeny Weeny Bit.” These songs are bona fide crowd-pleasers; they get the backsides of locals and tourists alike out of their seats and onto the dance floor. And as every band knows, when the crowd is moving and shaking and having fun, the tip bucket benefits. But these songs are also the standards of soul music, of rhythm and blues, and of the Memphis sound, so playing them is as much about paying respect to the roots of Memphis music as it is about putting on a good show.
Also on that list of standards is my pick for today’s prompt: Rufus Thomas‘ 1963 hit “Walking the Dog.” This is a song that makes me the kind of happy that borders on giddy. First, here’s the recorded version:
It’s practically impossible to find a live version of “Walking the Dog” that is as funky, as groovy, with horns as crisp and clear, as the recorded version. But what may be lost in sound quality is definitely made up for in the sheer spectacle of (Memphis’ own) Rufus Thomas’ onstage presence. So, for good measure, here’s the man himself performing it live with the Blues Brothers Band:
This song makes me happy for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it sounds like Memphis. It’s sassy, it’s groovy, it’s chock-full of bizarro, metaphorical storytelling. The horns answer back to Rufus like a congregation responds to a preacher’s call. It makes you want to move and, what is more, if you don’t know how to do it, Rufus’ll show you how. Last summer, when I was filming my short-documentary about Beale Street musicians (Working in Memphis), I probably heard this song twenty times a day/night. And I never got tired of it. Not once.
“Walking the Dog” also has never stopped being absolutely hilarious to me. I mean, seriously, read the lyrics. Oh sure, the choruses are fairly straightforward… but the verses? I don’t know who Mary Mack is, or what Rufus was smoking when he decided to tell her story, but give me a song in which it only costs 15 cents to see an elephant jump a fence any day and I’ll be happy.
Hello, tipsy toes!
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Here’s your quick-access link to the entire 30 Day Song Challenge 2014 prompt-list and my picks for each day.